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A Cover is Not the Book
POPPINS Uncle Gutenberg was a bookworm And he lived on Charing Cross The memory of his volumes brings a smile He would read me lots of stories When he wasn't on the sauce Now I'd like to share the wisdom Of my favourite bibliophile He said a- Cover is not the book So open it up and take a look 'Cause under the covers one discovers That the king may be a crook Chapter titles are like signs And if you read between the lines You'll find your first impression was mistook For a cover is nice But a cover is not the book AUDIENCE Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ra-ta-ta-ta! Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ra-ta-ta-ta! PENGUIN Mary Poppins, could you give us an example? POPPINS Certainly! Nellie Rubina was made of wood But what could not be seen was though Her trunk up top was barren Well, her roots were lush and green So in Spring when Mr Hickory saw her blossoms blooming there He took root despite her bark And now there's seedlings everywhere POPPINS and JACK Which proves A cover is not the book So open it up and take a look 'Cause under the covers one discovers That the king may be a crook Chapter titles are like signs And if you read between the lines You'll find your first impression was mistook For a cover is nice But a cover is not the book JACK Should we do the one about the wealthy widow? POPPINS Oh, by all means! JACK Always loved that one POPPINS Well, go on then! JACK Lady Hyacinth Macaw Brought all her treasures to a reef POPPINS Where she only wore a smile JACK Plus two feathers, and a leaf POPPINS So no one tried to rob her 'Cause she barely wore a stitch JACK For when you're in your birthday suit POPPINS and JACK There ain't much there to show you're rich! ALL Oh, a cover is not the book So open it up and take a look Cause under the covers one discovers That the king maybe a crook Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ru-ra-la, ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ra-ta-ta! POPPINS and JACK You'll find your first impression was mistook (Ya-da-da-da) For a cover is nice But a cover is not the book POPPINS Oh, give us the one about the dirty rascal, why don't ya? JACK Isn't that one a bit long? POPPINS Well, the quicker you're into it, the quicker you're out of it. JACK Once upon a time In a nursery rhyme There was a castle with a king Hiding in a wing 'Cause he never went to school to learn a single thing He had scepters and swords And a parliament of lords But on the inside he was sad Egad! Because he never had a wisdom for numbers A wisdom for words Though his crown was quite immense His brain was smaller than a bird's So the queen of the nation Made a royal proclamation: "To the Missus and the Messers The more or lessers Bring me all the land's professors" Then she went to the hair dressers And they came from the east And they came from the south From each college they poured knowledge From their brains into his mouth But the king couldn't learn So each professor met their fate For the queen had their heads removed And placed upon the gate And on that date I state their wives all got a note Their mate was now the late-great But then suddenly one day A stranger started in to sing He said, "I'm the dirty rascal And I'm here to teach the king" And the queen clutched her jewels For she hated royal fools But this fool had some rules They really ought to teach in schools Like you'll be a happy king If you enjoy the things you've got You should never try to be The kind of person that you're not So they sang and they laughed For the king had found a friend And they ran onto a rainbow for The story's perfect end So the moral is you musn't let The outside be the guide For it's not so cut and dried Well unless it's Dr. Jekyll Then you better hide, petrified! No, the truth can't be denied As I now have testified All that really counts and matters Is the special stuff inside AUDIENCE He did it! ALL Oh, a cover is not the book So open it up and take a look 'Cause under the covers one discovers That the king may be a crook POPPINS So please listen to what we've said JACK And open up a book tonight in bed POPPINS and JACK So one more time before we get the hook JACK Sing it out strong! AUDIENCE A cover is nice POPPINS Please take our advice! AUDIENCE A cover is nice JACK Or you'll pay the price! AUDIENCE A cover is nice ALL But a cover is not the book AUDIENCE Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ru-ra-la-la Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ru-ra-la-la Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ru-ra-la-la, la, la! Song Order Previous: The Royal Doulton Music Hall Next: The Place Where Lost Things Go